All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Petrillo

2020 Goal: purchase a buy and hold MF rental property (transitioning from flipping over last few years), but instead snapped up (off MLS) a super cheap flip opportunity across the country in the California desert. This gave us the opportunity to try out a long distance flip. Found a great GC, managed everything by text and email pretty much, COVID delayed the completion of the rehab for a number of weeks and a horrible plumber I had hired had to be fired and someone else brought in to fix his work. Then the property sat while I dropped the price weekly...I think it would have sold better if we weren't in a pandemic, so we only made about 15K off of it but it was a great long distance learning experience. Financed it with our own cash. By that time it was already October, looked in the midwest for a MF, decided on Cleveland area, we cashed out some retirement funds and would have used that as down payment on a larger property but I didn't think there was enough time left in the year to pursue a commercial loan and I was determined to close on something this year! On November 20 closed on one duplex and two triplexes (from a wholesaler) in a small city (65K pop'n) in Ohio, bought with our own cash (paid less than 27K/unit). Ten days later I was collecting rent checks--what an awesome feeling! All three have deferred maintenance and repairs from the slumlord who owned them so we are putting 1-2K into each property to start. But then they will cash flow 3K+ monthly. The 8 units came with 3 vacancies which we just filled this week. Next year's plan is to put a loan on them to use as the down payment on something bigger... Here's to everyone's 2021 goals!!

I used this guy, he is on BP: Justin Windham

Rolled over an old 401K and purchased a property out of the Solo 401K account with Solera Bank. Good experience, great option for using retirement funds for RE.

@Sylvia B., I guess you're right, I was assuming the greater good was people not dying. It's easy for the few to be skeptical Monday morning quarterbacks when the tsunami didn't hit your state because of the preventative actions of the many. 

The anti-shutdown people are ridiculous. Americans survived World War I (1914 to 1918), the Great Depression (1930 to 1941) and World War II (1941 to 1945) and went on to build the greatest country and economic opportunity ever and people are now whining that they have to curtail their activities for a month or two to protect the lives of millions of Americans? Selfish 4ucks! Are we that lame that we cannot survive NOT going to the Mall and the Cheesecake Factory for a few months? Missing out on sporting events and concerts? Really? Your great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents would be ashamed of you. Learn about self-sacrifice for the greater good. The initial estimates were that 1 to 2 million could die without mitigation efforts, we have definitely "flattened the curve" since the mortality estimate now stands at less than 100,000. That is all because of social distancing and the shutdown. This is NOT "the flu," this is a novel virus that is highly contagious and devastating and we have no treatments or vaccine for it. We are trying to buy time and it is working because most Americans are decent, intelligent, responsible people who care about their neighbors.

@John Chang: "there's no denying that shutting down the entire country will do irreversible damage to the country, to the economy"

No one is shutting down the entire country, just the non-essential businesses (looking at you tattoo parlors) and no, there will be no "irreversible" damage, that is absurd. America will get through this and get back to work and continue to kick a$$ as we have before. Be a patriot, not a pansy. 

As far as churches: are you only Christian/Jewish/Muslim if you can go to your house of worship weekly? Really? Is that how it works? Because I thought you could practice your religion in your own home, on your own time, in your own heart and mind, not have to physically show up to some random building weekly to prove to yourself and others what you believe. You're all squawking that the First Amendment protects your religion from government interference but guess what? The government is now trying to protect all of us from you spreading around the highly contagious virus that you picked up in your Sunday petri dish. Deal with it. I don't think you're going to get hit by lightning for skipping church for a few weeks. 

As for the psychological risks of the shutdown (suicide, drug/alcohol use, child abuse, domestic violence), this is why we need a strong social safety net, such as food banks, free health clinics, volunteer organizations that can help people weather the economic and other stress we are all going through. Isolating does not mean turning a blind eye to the fact that others are in a worse position than we are. Donate, volunteer, do what you can to lend a helping hand until this giant suckfest is over. 

More education for those of you who do not understand medicine/science: the death rate is not inflated, many patients are being diagnosed with COVID-19 clinically, meaning they may not have been tested but are presumed to have the disease based on their clinical presentation. This does count as a COVID-19 death, it does not mean doctors are wrongly attributing deaths to the disease.

Disclaimer: I am a physician who works in a long term care facility, we have dozens of sick patients and sick staff members, including one patient death so far (and expecting more unfortunately). We were in PPE at work for weeks, social distancing, had eliminated family visits, meetings, basically any extraneous work or staffing as best we could and it still got into our facility. I was one of the most strict staff members there and became the second staff member infected in spite of how careful I was being. Spent 16 days in bed including a trip to the ER on day 12 where I was diagnosed with left lower lobe pneumonia. Finally on the mend, I will be returning to work tomorrow. This virus is no joke. Highly contagious and makes you very ill and there is nothing you can do but cross your fingers once you have it. I am 49 years old without medical problems and in good shape. My husband, who has an autoimmune condition and is on immunosuppressants, also got it and is now recovered but hearing him start coughing a week after I went into quarantine was one of the most personally scary things I have ever heard. 

Stay safe everyone, keep your distance, avoid people who are not wearing masks, wash your hands and RELAX! This too shall pass!

Two more points: you said you will be buying into a practice soon, how will this car loan look to a bank when you go shopping for a practice loan? I bet you'll wish you have that 45K in your pocket then...

Re: future wife--will she be more impressed by the car or by the fact that you chose to not spend that 45K and instead save it for a down payment on a house, investment properties, dental practice, etc. I'm guessing the latter (I know I would be!)

1. Pivoting from flipping to buy and hold...did 4 flips in the last 2 years, closing on 2 SFRs on one lot out of state this week, was going to keep them but now think we can quick rehab and flip to have even more to use as a down payment on a small MF.

2. Exercise! Hubby's Xmas gift to me is a Personal Trainer :)

3. Vacation! We've had two true vacations in the last seven years--going to take all the time off that I can get this year!

Have a GREAT 2020 Everybody!!

Scott, why don't you post this question on the White Coat Investor forum and see what they all say? I think you'll get some different feedback (I hope you read WCI! Indispensable info!)

We found headstones...under a shed that we removed. When my husband first called me and told me about them, I freaked out thinking the shed was on top of some old cemetery and we were desecrating gravesites...turns out they were lying flat and being used as blocks to prop up the shed (like you would use pavers). The name on the headstones was from an old well-known local family (the local middle school carries their name) so we called the historical society and ended up talking to someone with that same last name who volunteered there, he was happy to come and take them off our hands. Also found out from him that the house we were rehabbing (built in 1830) was originally the local blacksmith's home. I assume the headstones had been replaced with nicer ones at the actual cemetery and a resourceful homeowner was repurposing them (they were extremely worn down, barely readable).

Neptune's nickname is "Newark by the Sea"--does that answer your question? Buying west of the tracks, expect sec 8 renters, intergenerational poverty, too many children, joblessness, drug use,  crime, etc etc. Are you looking for buy and hold to rent out, trying to flip or what? What attracted you to this property?

@David Sisson, thank you so much, all very helpful advice. I am writing a personal letter to all Board members and also getting advice from our attorney. This BOH has a reputation for being very difficult with septic projects but I have been told they can't NOT allow us to put in a new system! They know septic systems but they know nothing about investment properties, such as you don't just knock down your garage to install a leach field! Thanks again!